


A promise made is a promise kept

by be_brave13



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bucket List, Crack Treated Seriously, Explicit Language, Fluff and Angst, Galaxy Garrison, Gay Shiro (Voltron), Gen, HES ALIVE FOLKS, Mental Health Issues, Pacts, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Pre-Kerberos Mission, The Adam/Shiro could be platonic or romantic it's up to you, Three am, and it turned into this, angsty teens, but to me, i just wanted to write a crack fic about Shiro getting tattoo eyeliner, idk what this is, is adam dead???? idk its ambiguous, no beta we die like men, revisits them after the war, they're seventeen here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 23:56:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17538776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/be_brave13/pseuds/be_brave13
Summary: “I need everyone here to make a promise.”“What sort of promise?” Adam asked carefully.“We’re all seventeen,” Matt started. “And let’s face it, we have given everything just to be here. We’re definitely not what the rest of the world calls normal. We have you, Adam, the strategist who can outplan and negotiate with the best, and you, Shiro, who can pilot the hell out of anything that has fuel and diffuse any situation, and we have me. The nerd who can code anything, figure out any mathematical problem.” He smirked and his gaze turned stony.“I want us to do something for ourselves.”





	A promise made is a promise kept

**Author's Note:**

> Uhhhhh don't look at me I just have had this headcannon for like two years that Shiro has his eyeliner tattooed because he lost a bet to Matt and I needed to write it. This was supposed to be that, but it isn't. Somehow it got heckin angsty. Whatever. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy, call me out on any big mistakes you see!! 
> 
> (again, this is a product of me writing for like, three hours, not reading it, but deciding it's just decent enough to share on the internet lmao)

“I need everyone here to make a promise.”

 

They were outside, shivering as they sat right next to each other while staring at the stars after hours on the roof of the Garrison’s main building.

 

Matt’s voice had been more serious than usual, which caused Shiro and Adam to take their eyes off of the stars and onto their friend.

 

“What sort of promise?” Adam asked carefully.

 

Matt was the only one still looking skyward, and his gaze didn’t shift as he answered Adam’s inquiry.

 

“We’re all seventeen,” he started. “And let’s face it, we have given everything just to be here. We’re definitely not what the rest of the world calls normal. We have you, Adam, the strategist who can outplan and negotiate with the best, and you, Shiro, who can pilot the hell out of anything that has fuel and diffuse any situation, and we have me. The nerd who can code anything, figure out any mathematical problem.” He smirked and his gaze turned stony.

 

“I want us to do something for ourselves.” He almost sounded a little bitter, and the expression on his face was tinted with exhaustion.

 

Shiro shared a glance with Adam. They knew what had caused this outbreak from their friend. Things had gotten very stressful recently, and all of them were in the process of being chosen for their first missions.

 

They had been working non stop since their arrival at the Garrison when they were bright-eyed freshman at fourteen, putting in extra time and hours that nobody else had.

 

It had lead them to each be the best, but at a price. They were continuously stressed, had less than average sleep, and their mental health left less than desired.

 

Matt had anxiety that he covered up behind computers and code. Shiro had to deal with his muscles going out of whack from the dystrophy and the knowledge that he was living on borrowed time. Adam had severe self-esteem issues that he was working through to that day.

 

They all worked so hard because they had something to prove and seemingly everything to lose.

 

“I’d be willing to promise to do something for myself.” Shiro acquiesced quietly after a bout of silence.

 

Matt finally cracked a smile. “I want everyone to say the most ridiculous thing that they can think of that they’ve always secretly wanted to do, and when we turn eighteen we’re gonna do whatever the stupid shit is.”

 

Adam and Shiro looked at him, stunned now.

 

“You want us,” Adam said slowly, as if to a five year old, a smile barely held back on his face, “to think of the stupidest shit we’ve ever considered doing and then _actually do it?_ Matt, are you insane? Have you met us? We’re going to end up jumping out of airplanes and getting tramp stamps and seeing how many bags of marshmallows we can eat in one sitting!”

 

Nobody could hold back after Adam’s bout of shouting and all three of the boys laughed at the mental images the words conjured. It also was nearing three am, so they were a bit drunk on tiredness.

 

They goaded on the laughter for a bit until it naturally died off.

 

It was quiet for a minute before Shiro spoke. “You know, I’ve always thought about getting a tattoo.” He took a deep breath before elaborating. “Not like, a tramp stamp or anything, but uh, I’ve thought about the fact that I can’t bring my eyeliner to space.”

 

“Your fucking eyeliner?” Matt laughed. “Out of everything that you’re worried about having in space, it’s your fucking eyeliner, Shiro? That’s the gayest thing you’ve ever said to me.”   

 

“Shut the fuck up, asshole,” Shiro said, chuckling back at him and knocking their shoulders together.

 

“Shiro.” Adam’s voice demanded their attention. “Are you saying that you want to get tattooed eyeliner?” His eyes looked comically large behind his glasses.

 

Shiro nodded with mock seriousness. “Good sir, that’s _exactly_ what I’m saying.”

 

“ _Oh my God!_ ” Matt wheezed through his laughter again. “Shiro! I _can’t_ –” he dissolved into hysteria, imagining the look on Iverson’s face when he would realize that Shiro got his infamous eyeliner tattooed. He tried to convey his thoughts through his gasping breaths, but evidently was unsuccessful due to the confused looks of the other two.

 

When he’d finally calmed down, moving his glasses to swipe at a few stray tears, he pronounced, “Shiro, you gotta. Now that you’ve planted the idea in my brain, I need to see Iverson’s face when he realizes you fucking got a tattoo of eyeliner. _Fuck._ ”

 

Shiro turned pale at the thought of the yelling he would receive, but he’d been thinking about this for years. He swallowed down his misgivings and shrugged. “Fine. But you better have something equally good planned.”

 

“No clue if he will or not, but I have something in mind,” Adam said.

 

He smiled at his friends, getting a gleam in his eye that screamed trouble.

 

“I know it was in jest earlier but I’ve always wanted to jump out of an airplane.”

 

“Really? I’d shit myself.” Matt admitted freely.

 

Adam smiled at him, “Yeah, you probably would, wouldn’t you? I dunno, ever since I was a little kid I wished I could have a means of escape. Flying always seemed like a good way to go, and since I couldn’t just sprout wings, that meant skydiving was the next best option.”

 

Shiro looked at him intently. “Is that why you wanted to be a pilot?”

 

Adam nodded slowly. “That’s always been my motivation. I’m just happy I eventually got put in fighter class, even though I’m nowhere near as good as you.”

 

Matt smiled softly at his two best friends. “I’m glad you two are where you need to be.” His tone lightened after that as he continued, “Alright! You’re going to jump out of a plane, and hopefully not die.”

 

“I hope,” Adam murmured.

 

Shiro just rolled his eyes at the comment and cleared his throat. “Matt, you’re next.”

 

Matt smirked and rose to Shiro’s bait. “I know what I wanna do, boys.” He exhaled, watching his breath turn to steam in the cold night air.

 

“I wanna smoke a joint.”

 

Shiro and Adam muffled their laughter at his blunt phrasing.

 

“Sto-op! I just want to know how it feels. Like, you know all those memes? I want to know if they’re a lie or not. I’m curious.” He pouted.

 

Shiro and Adam just shook their heads.

 

“Only you, you dipshit. You gonna turn into a stoner on us?” Adam affectionately teased.

 

“No promises.” He replied.

 

Shiro sighed. “Am I the only one thinking this through? Weed isn’t fucking legal here, dumbasses. We’d have to take a weekend trip to Colorado or some shit to do it.”

 

“Worth.” Matt said wholeheartedly.

 

“Wait a sec,” Adam narrowed his eyes. “Is it only one of us doing the thing, or do we all have to do the things together?”

 

“Well… I could get a tattoo and jump out of an airplane I guess, as long as y’all don’t mind me literally crapping myself before we jump.” Matt answered after thinking for a moment, his voice steady.

 

“I’ll look into it with my stupid muscles and shit, but yeah, if I can I’m down.” Shiro said.

 

Adam nodded. “Then there it is. When we're all eighteen, we’ll do our crazy shit. Tattoos, skydiving, and smoking joints. Sounds sufficiently like things we’d never do, which is exactly the point.”

 

The air around them turned solemn, back to how it was when Matt started their conversation. All three of the boys felt the cold sink into their lungs and their gazes turned skyward again.

 

The stars twinkled above, promising silently to hold their vow in confidence, and the three of them felt aged like only being under the weight of stress could cause.

 

“Can we all make one more promise?” Adam’s voice was small, hesitant. “I know it’s stupid, but can we promise to stay friends no matter what? I just, someday I want to be able to look at the tattoo I get and remember the awesome things we did together, but I don’t want to remember them on my own.” He was looking at his hands, folded in his lap, and he shrugged self-consciously.

 

Shiro cleared his throat. “I don’t think that’s a promise I can make,” he spoke the words with care, “but I can promise to try my best to uphold it, and have the time of my life with you guys when we do all that.”

 

“No ragrets,” Matt chimed in, quirking the side of his mouth. “I’ll stick around you two weirdos as long as you’ll have me. I mean, who else would even listen to me talk about black holes for two months straight and make an effort to understand my rambles?”

 

The three shared a smile at the memory.

 

“I think you told us that even your sister turned around and walked out of the room when she heard the words ‘event horizon,’ didn’t she?” Adam smirked. “Yeah, you’re definitely lucky to have us.”  

 

Matt nodded at the words. “Yeah. I am.”

 

His tone tugged something in Shiro’s heart, but Shiro didn’t want to say anything else. They just continued to sit in silence on the roof and let the night roll by, breathing together under the stars.

 

When they finally returned to their dorms just before dawn, Matt drew them into a hug, a yawn spreading across his features.

 

“Thanks for promising to do something crazy, guys. We need something to look forward to besides our fucking assignments in this hellhole.”

 

“Of course.” Shiro’s voice was firm. “I think it’s something we needed to do.”

 

Adam just smiled and shook his head. “I can’t wait to do it with you guys. We’ll make it happen no matter what.”

 

And on that day, a piece of paper was stolen from the reserves, the nice kind used for diplomas. Shiro used his best handwriting to copy down the words they’d all agreed on, and when he was done, they all signed it at the bottom. The page read:

 

_A Pact was made this night, September the fourteenth in the year two thousand sixty-eight. Upon the eighteenth birthday of Adam Wheeler, July the twenty-first of two thousand sixty-nine, Takashi Shirogane, Matthew Holt, and Adam Wheeler will do the following items before the year two thousand sixty-nine comes to a close:_

 

  * _Jump out of a perfectly good airplane of their own volition_


  * _Permanently ink a part of their bodies_


  * _Smoke a joint and know what being high feels like_



 

_If any fail to take part in the actions above, they must reasonably explain why._

 

 _Also promised is to stay faithful friends for as long as they are humanly possible._ _(_ _Matthew Holt would like to add that “Death is the only escape for y’all now, you’re stuck with me for good.”_ _)_

 

_I agree to the terms of the pact written above and will fulfill them to the best of my ability._

_Signed,_

 

_Shirogane Takashi_

_Matthew Holt_

_Adam Wheeler_

 

And, the promise made was a promise kept.

 

They went to a tattoo parlor. Shiro got eyeliner tattooed. Matt got the planets on his ankle. Adam got an airplane behind his ear.

 

They jumped out of a plane. Matt did not shit his pants. Adam felt full of adrenaline and alive. Shiro just closed his eyes and felt the wind against his face.

 

They got high. Adam got silent and stared at the ceiling. Matt talked about wormholes and entangled particles for two hours straight. Shiro cuddled up between them and hummed lowly.

 

They had every intention of staying close as they possibly could be.

 

But then Kerberos came. And, well, you know the rest.

 

Years later, after a war and PTSD and the loss of an arm and friends and even his life for a little bit, but the gaining of scars and memories and family, Shiro decides to look through boxes of his stuff from Before. Somehow, the things put in boxes survived the bombing and heavy damage the Earth took.

 

Most of it is irrelevant now, but Shiro pulls out the old picture frame that houses the Pact and is brought to tears.

 

His fingertips come up to graze the corners of his eyelids, Haggar masterfully recreating the eyeliner his original body had inked onto it. The ink should have faded, but it hasn’t.

 

Shiro thinks back to that night on the cold roof. He wishes he could tell them what was to come so they could have avoided the bad parts.

 

But he is here. No going back now.

 

The pact hangs on his wall, the inside of his closet like so many years ago.

 

It weighs on him for a bit, but he feels the weight of Adam's words, the promise he so tentatively wanted to tack onto the end. Shiro couldn't give him an answer then, but he wants to now.

 

The next time he has the paladins and those closest to him over for dinner, he waits until everyone is silent. Then, he asks them a question.

 

“Can everyone here make a promise?”

 


End file.
